Persona thread. I have only played 3 and 4 and I am curious about

>>4250887
They're as far from 3 and 4 as they could possibly be. They're straightforward dungeon crawlers, there aren't S-links, the battle systems are slow, and they're much more gameplay and story-focused rather than being a sim that you occasionally have to slog through a randomly generated dungeon. I'd highly recommend playing the PSP port of P1. P2 is fine on either PSP or PS1, but note that it consists of two games: Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment. The former is available in english on PS1 (fan translation) and PSP (official), but the latter is only available on PS1 with an official translation that... Could be better but is still serviceable.
Even if you don't play them yourself, I highly recommend at least watching a playthrough or reading an LP, because they're both great story-wise (especially P2, fuck).

The Persona 2 games were one of the few games I kept going only for the plot, because the combat is fucking frustrating.

Persona 1 is a cool first person dungeon crawler if you are into this shit.

>>4250946
So Persona 1 is more like Phantasy Star, alright.

Early Persona is just your regular SMT but easier and starring japanese schoolboys.

>>4250981
The story and setting are different, but the tone is very similar. P1 and P2 are pretty heavy.

Persona 1 is my personal favorite, but it's got some of the most boring combat you'll ever experience. What it lacks in a good turn-based system makes up for with excellent characterization and story.

What >>4250946 says is mostly true sans the P1 PSP port. Shoji Meguro mutilated the original soundtrack and replaced it with pop trash that doesn't fit the original tone of the game. You can get the fully translated PS1 version off rom sites or get the patch that adds back in only SOME of the OG music into the PSP remake.

Persona 2 Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment are generally considered the better titles of the franchise (by people who've actually played all the games, mind you). IS got a PSP remake which lets you select the remixed or original soundtrack. EPPSP is also a thing, but again, you'll have to rely on fan patches to play it. PS1 version is good too, but they localize names and it makes things a little more confusing.

>>4250998
I agree with the fact that P1 Portable has a completely shat-on soundtrack, but it's worth bearing it for the properly-translated story and the ability to actually play Snow Queen Quest, in addition to shorter load times and some modern conveniences. My biggest complaint other than the music is that they made some of the dungeons smaller and easier and added more save points, but since it's portable they have to take that consideration.

I haven't played P1, so I can't comment on it. P2 has some of the worst gameplay to be found in the genre, and should be avoided unless you are willing to put up with that for a decent plot. I'm not just talking about the combat, either: borrowed SMT mechanics like fusion and demon negotiation, which are fun in other games, are handled horribly in P2.

>>4251028
I don't think it's really all THAT bad, combatwise. It has some interesting ideas in it. It's just that they amount to very standard battles with a weird input system. At the very least, the characters' negotiations are funny.

>>4250887
both Persona 2 titles are the shit, man.
such great games.

combat-system is much different but I thought it was cool. story-wise they are really interesting and tried something new and fresh. I really liked it.

Persona 1 was more humble obviously but not bad either.

Try them all out.

>>4250998
>>4251014

I've already played the PSP version, would it be worth going back to the Japanese PS1 version? I've not listened to much of the original OST so that might be fun to experience in context but I'm worried the combat might be too slow.